You will need to sign on with your LLLID (La Leche League ID) before you can post. If you have never claimed your LLLID, create your LLLID now. To sign in, click the LLLID Sign On button in the upper right corner. Enter your LLLID Alias and click the button again.

When did you start rice cereal??

Okay I was at my pedi yesterday, and I love her, but wasn't as pleased with her yesterday. She said we should start cereal at 3 or 4 months. Isn't that too early? I know I will do what I want to do, I just want to make sure I am right and she's incorrect. When should you start it. I am planning on doing rice cereal and then purees, so when should I start them. I told her I was planning on 6 months. Thoughts? I don't see the point of introducing them too early, she's completely content and as long as she is still gaining. THoughts, links welcome?

Mama to my Rubies
C '07
A '09
And my Christmas Eve baby
L '12I will carry you all my life
And I will praise the one who's chosen me to carry you
W Apr '11
R Nov '11The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt within the heart. *Helen Kellar*

Re: When did you start rice cereal??

We didn't really do cereal, we bought some because we just thought that's what we were supposed to do, but DD wasn't interested. So we just started in with fruits and veggies. The iron in fortified cereals is poorly absorbed anyway and can just result in constipation. 3-4 months is WAY too early.

Re: When did you start rice cereal??

I tried cereal for the first time at 6 months. DD hated it, and after tasting it I can see why. Yuck! I didn't give it to her more than 2-3 times.

There's a huge diversity of advice on solids out there. According to my pediatrician, babies should be EBF (or exclusively formula-fed) until 6 months. Between 6 and 12 months, solids aren't nutritionally necessary but should be introduced so that the baby gets to experiment with new tastes, textures, and motor skills. After 12 months, solids are nutritionally necessary, but the transition to a majority-solid food diet is a gradual one, with many babies eating very little solid food until well into their second year. That being said, my pediatrician is a believer in giving vitamin supplements to babies.

Re: When did you start rice cereal??

We never did rice cereal either. We did BLS, started at 6 months, but his digestion wasn't ready, so we delayed until 7-8 months. We started with sweet potatoes and puffed rice and millet grains and avocado. One at a time, of course, since he has food allergies!

heres what he says about rice cereal
Rice is the most intestinal-friendly grain because it is gluten-free, low in protein, and high in carbohydrates. It has a nutritional profile more like a fruit than a grain.

Re: When did you start rice cereal??

also from that link

NUTRITIP: Milk Plus

Consider solid foods an addition to, not a substitute for, breastmilk or formula, which are more nutritionally balanced than any solid food. This food fact is especially important for breastfeeding babies. For a breastfeeding baby, it's best to start solids slowly, so that they don't become a substitute for the more nutritious breastmilk. Also, solids fed at an early age can interrupt the supply-and-demand cycle, resulting in decreased milk production.

Re: When did you start rice cereal??

Well, with DD I started rice cereal at 4 months, but that was before I knew better and I was DESPERATE to help her sleep longer at night (it didn't help.)

Anyway, with this new LO coming I plan to wait longer before starting any kind of solids, and I will probably skip rice cereal all together. Ahhh, the things we learn AFTER having a child... this second LO of mine will have lots of things done differently with him.

IRL all my friends call me Buff, Wife to CB since 10/11/2003

Mom to DD - "MJ" born 9/2007 @ 8lbs 10oz, 21.5" She's 6 years old!
My journey nursing MJ started HERE, but we got through it and she breastfed 19.5 months, self-weaned on 5/17/09

Re: When did you start rice cereal??

yup that was my 1st too...
He ate bowl after bowl of cereal that I gladly shoveled in.
and couldn't poop
2nd kid came I learned a little bit more and he self fed, no bottles
3rd kid came and I learned some more and he too was self fed
Sarah came along and she just ate what we ate after she had teeth the only thing I ground up was meats that were too hard to cut.